Confluence and Exigence

As I posted here James Hansen has been part of the Soros machine and is coming out swinging at those who find his science disreputable as "swift-boaters and contrarians". He then procedes to indict we swift-boating contrarians as "buying influence in government aimed at resisting change..."

Naomi Klein offers the Narrative Theme's "Gotcha" with her feisty retorts in an NPR interview conducted by noted libertarian Amy Goodman, populist Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and noted conservative Naomi Klein.

If you're not a listener to NPR you're probably not used to this sort of treatment to an eminence grise. And, as you follow the discussion, you must ask yourself how you would react to such an hollow, ideologically based criticism? That Maestro Greenspan even spoke to such nudeniks was a gift to them. That hostess Goodman allowed her other intemperate guest to both interupt and foolishly allow sloganeering when speaking with Mr. Greenspan only serves to underscore Ms. Goodman's lack of formal training.

That Ms. Klein is invited to speak about anything again simply speaks about a nation without cultural standards.

Read the interview here. And ask yourself, when was the last time you asked your children to "grow up"?

A Counter Offer

I received this comment: "I have been debating my buddy about this through email. He says that the only people that are currently skeptical of global warming have ties to energy companies. Does anyone have a counter to his assertion?"

It's an important question...because I hope that we never replicate the kind of political behaviour that drove us to gas shortages--pictured above--during the '70's. Once Big Government tries to apply solutions to market problems, all kinds of evil can pop up.

Here's a couple of links that you could share with your True Believer buddy.

My favorite is "Paunder the Maunder", by high school student Kristen Byrnes. Of course it is possible that Kristen's dad--or someone in her family--works for Big Oil. Maybe even a gas station. Oil is oil, bad is bad...etc.



Phil Stott is an Emeritus Professor from the University of London. In an article posted at ABC News, he complains about the costs of hoaxing up Global Warming in the face of real threats to real people right now. It's possible he, or someone he knows, owns oil company stocks. The jury is still out.



If your GWBuddy is science minded there are some rather more difficult sites that one could appeal to. My favorite is Climate Audit. In this article, Steve McIntyre show us the latest in his attempt to duplicate James Hansens panurgy.



If you'd like a critique of the IPCC report, I suggest Climate Science. While Mr. Pielke has no known connection with Big Oil, he does have some experience with climate, having received his Ph.D. from Penn State, and having worked for NOAA, UVirginia, CSU, Duke, UAz, as well as other job titles. The site hasn't been updated since September 3rd...but that might hopefully change.



There are more sources out there. One of my favs is the Competitive Enterprise Institute. But you can clearly see on the Home Page an ad for Ethanol. So...somewhere there's a dog in the hunt. But with a little math, and a little common sense, you can sort out the BS.

Unless you're a Lefty. Then you Live for the Narrative Thread!

Global Warming: Swift Boating

James Hansen says that government should point the
country in an economically sensible way toward the
inevitable future "beyond fossil fuels", so that the global
warming problem could be solved readily.

In my post, "Follow the Money" I point out that the campaign for Global Warming was paid for in large measure by George Soros' money groups. For Global Warming activist James Hansen, that figure is about $720-thousand.

In "Oregon's Energy Policy: It's About Shoes & Stuff" I point out that our state governor's approach to Global Warming as evidenced by his Climate Change Group was flawed.

But the criticism remains. The Global Warming hoax has an agenda. And while complaining about reports on his funding sources--he refers to those who criticize him as "swift-boaters and contrarians"--he actually lets you take a peek at the economic agenda driving the Global Warming Hoax.

In "Shoes & Stuff" I point out the fatal dagger in the governor's climate group strategy. Imagine a climate group without a single representative from energy and transportation companies. It could be that worrying about the economic impact of findings from such a group are secondary. Again, what is the agenda?

Here's James Hansen (pdf):

"The bottom line of talks that I have been giving recently on global warming concerns the generational inequity. Those making the mess are not the ones who will pay--it is their children and grandchildren. I note that the people best able to solve the problem are the "captains of industry".

...

"For whatever reasons, our captains have chosen to emphasize short-term profits. The captains are not stupid, though. They did not get to be the CEOs without being pretty smart. Thus is born a strategy to appeal to them through their grandchildren."

Can't make an argument to an adult? Target the children. Capitalism bad. Lefty is good.

What prattle. And this form the head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Let's assume that he too is "not stupid". You know he's taken Lefty money. You see that when his financing has become public that those who point this out are swift-boaters and contrarians. And now you see that the role of the market--providing the goods and services demanded by consumers--is nothing more than a trick to achieve short-term profits. Those bastards!

And finally, what does Mr. Hansen call for?

"So the task is back to you, young people. Let your parents and grandparents know that you understand posturing. Appealing on a personal level and expecting accountability can still be effective. Don't let them off the hook.

"'Hey, Grandfather, it's my planet too!'"

Or course, actions at MIT would lead one to ask why we should follow the lead of these youngsters. They're not doing such at hot job of instilling confidence in their choices. But the left has never relied upon critical thinking to advance their cause. As Mr. Hansen points out, this is not a campaign that can be won on its merits. It's one that must be advanced throught the appeal to emotions.

Will the Left be able to supplant the market to substitute its own economic agenda? I truly hope not.

UPDATE: This from Newsbusters.
UPDATE: This, on Swift-boating and Oregon's own Blumenauer, from NW Republican.
UPDATE: This, on Soros dough, from The Clue Batting Cage.

Author's note: I was very pleased to find out that I was now a Swift-boater. I missed that whole John Kerry thing since I'd never served in the Navy. I'm pleased to find out that military service is no longer a requisite to be considered among those amazing gentlemen. I've just e-mailed my mom.

retaRded pRoto Fashists

Stole this pic. Click on the pic to take your there.

What is it about monkey boy fashistas and their need to mock the Marx Brothers? Hail and Farewell, indeed!

Teachers Are Going to Hate This Report

Portland Public Schools have issued an important report on education.(pdf)

Reading through it, you begin to understand a little about the thinking of teachers. They're there. They get paid. These are good things. It's For the Kids.

In Portland, seven of 15 schools offering 9th to 12th grade met the annual instructional time requirement of 990 hours.

In Portland, no school offering 12th grade met the annual instructional time requirement of 990 hours.

I've heard very good things about the Salem Public School system. One of the best indicators of excellence has always been the quality of a school district's music program, and Salem has one of the best in the state. How are their high schools doing? According to this report:

North Salem HS.......1,017 reported hours
South Salem HS.......1,010 reported hours
West Salem Hs.........1,010 reported hours
McKay HS....................995 reported hours
McNary HS..................995 reported hours
Sprague HS..................995 reported hours

Only two Portland High Schools matched or exceeded these hours.

Read the report. And remember, all politicians talk about is more money. After reading the report you may get the idea that something more important should be addressed. Given all the money we spend, shouldn't we focus on time spent teaching?

Teachers are going to hate this report. It's going to force them back into the classroom to do the thing they were hired to do.

More info from PPS here.

Sometimes? Just to Laugh.

Oooh! The Iranian is going to blow up Israel and the United States! He's targeted our cities and our troops.

This is the latest weapon in the Iranian's bag of tricks. Click on the pic for more.

Oregon's Energy Policy: It's About Shoes & Stuff

In Follow the Money I wrote about our Governor's commission, the "Climate Change Group" noting that several important market sectors were ignored; i.e. the oil companies, energy companies.

But several important groups were included, like NIKE and the Climate Trust. You know we can't do anything about Climate Change without having shoe manufacturers on-board.

So I laughed when I read this: "For the first time since 1973, a new application for building a reactor was placed before the federal government."

I'm not surprised that not a single trucker, marine or rail transportation representative sits on the Governor's "Climate Change Group". After all, what does energy or transportation have to do with the Dream/Vision Thingy of the Lefties in Salem?

But what is their reaction to affordable energy production? That is, "clean" energy?

Don't expect any response. 'Cause government's job isn't to make sense under Governor Kulongoski's leadership. It's about shoes and stuff.

Can We Grow Up Now?

In this post I talked about Columbia University and the kids meeting the Iranian. The point being that I'm an optimist. At the end of the day, we're all Americans, we speak the same language and in the main, celebrate the same occasions. Lefty or not, a Lefty is more like me than any Frenchman could ever hope to be.

In this post, I talked about MIT and the kids being kids. Not in the sense that "boys will be boys" kind of condescending approval for inappropriate behaviour. Rather in the sense that you send youngsters off to college doesn't make them adults in their behaviour. And that MIT has failed in a larger sense by failing to provide adequate mentoring to their valuable pupils. It's like tutelage without intent. I'll grant you that 18-21 is a difficult age. It was difficult to be. I'm lucky I'm alive.

But I was lucky. I met some wonderful mentors. Professors McClanethan, Dost, Dale, Murdzek, Bible, Farber, Wolfson, Rossbacher, Curry, Willey...and more. Men and women who wouldn't let me slack. PoliSci, Philosophy, History, Economics, Russian studies, Russian and English. And did I mention my prof for Stat 451 and 452? Brutal. But I learned.

When you went into a Computer Science class with 350 students...and you were told that Aces on all work and all tests was not a guarantee of an A for the course...you worked harder. And an inability to understand your TA was not a viable complaint. You learned.

In this post, I talked about kids in a different sense. The problem we have is that there are adults out there who have never grown up. I mean a bunch. And they elect adults who reflect their immature views. The case in point, the faddishness of Global Warming.

I have friends that have never grown up. Never taken responsibility for a thing. Out of college they went into government service. Now they're senior administrators. One friend went into television...and married a millionaire. (Not bad!) One friend works as an administrator for one of the largest pension funds in the country.

They've worked hard--or married well--but one friend, who is an Executive Vice-President of one of the Fortune 500 (between 50 and 100) companies retired a few years back and decided to open a new business. After eight months he called me to let me know that he was headed back to the corporate world. He said that he didn't have that "entreprenurial" mindset. Being a small business owner had too much volatility. And he told me that he admired my pluck.

When you own and operate your own small business you learn to take a beating. But I've never missed a payday. And I've never left an unpaid bill. For those of you who didn't survive 9/11...you know what I mean.

So why do we support politicians who have no idea of what work is? What work means? What meeting a payroll means?

Because too many of us never had to face this reality. I look at my state's congressional delegation and only one congressman ever had a job. Congressman Greg Walden. It's not a surprise that he's a Republican. Things like tax rates and mandates affect your ability to hire and take care of your employees. It's the kind of thing you learn when you run a small, family owned business.

Darlene Hooley? Taught school for eight years.

DeFazio? Professional pol. Never had a job outside of politics.

Blumenauer? Never had a job that wasn't a government job. You learn nothing about meeting a payroll when you take your money from the people who make money.

Wu is an attorney.

Smith? An attorney.

Wyden? He "taught" for a while.

Pound for pound, Oregon's delegation to the United States Congress is the weakest, least employable group in Washington, D.C. And yet Oregon elects them and their ilk.

Don't tell me you're now surprised when you read this.

Isn't it time we, as Oregonians, grew up. Or at least were less afraid of leading, than pandering?

Follow The Money

This article from Investor's Business Daily offers you evidence that the Global Warming campaign is a PR stunt. How could someone make that claim?

James Hansen, "NASA Whistleblower" was all about a 720-thousand dollar "politicization of science" program. It's why groups like Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine have formed a Petition Project to offer balance to this advocacy project.

Here's a list of signers from Oregon:

Gail D Adams, PhD, David Aldridge, Arthur W Allsop, Elmer Anderson, PhD, Kenneth E Anderson, Lynn Apple, PhD, Earl Bates, Thomas E Bedell, PhD, Ronald Berg, Richard Bernhard, Siegfried R Berthelsford, MD, Guy W Bishop, PhD, Sergey Boblcov, Susan Boner, William J Brady, MD, William Brandt, PhD, David L Brenda, John D Bryan, John Buckinger, Rodger K Bufford, PhD, Hallie Flowers Bundy, PhD, Steve M Carlson, David Chilcote, PhD, Duane Christensen, David T Clark, PhD, CK Claycomb, PhD, Ray William Clough, PhD, William C Cullen, PhD, Michael Daly, Fred W Decker, PhD, Fred W Decker, PhD, William D Detlefsen, PhD, Lee G Dickinson, Edward J Dowdy, PhD, Nancy M Dowdy, PhD, Arthur Drescher, Robert Dupriest, MD, Owen Dykema, Richard Erpelding, MD, Gary Farmer, DVM, Willard Farnham, Andrew Fergus, Cyprus W Field, PhD, D Findorff, Robert Findorff, James W Fitzsimmons, MD, Richard Fixott, DDS, Bruce Ingram Fleming, PhD, J Ford, PhD, Steve Fordyce, Dan Fowler, Paul Franklin, Dwayne T Friesen, PhD, Herbert Farley Frolander, PhD, David Garstin, Jerry Gray, Thoams Gray, J. H. Greenman, James Robb Grover, PhD, M S Gurney, Paul E Hammond, PhD, John Harville, PhD, Van Hassel, PhD, Larry Hellie, Charles A Hen, Tom R Herrmann, PhD, John D Hill, DVM, James F Holmes, PhD, Robert D Hunsucker, PhD, Douglas Hunt, Wm Hutley, John F Hutzenlaub, PhD, Terrance Johnson, PhD, Edward Lynn Kaplan, PhD, Larry Kapustka, PhD, Lester Kemmling, Donald Kinzer, Elmer F Knauss, Nona L Knauss, Tom Knetsley, Loren D Koller, PhD, Robert W Koza, Donald L Lamar, PhD, Andrew Lambie, Robert Larsell, Eric B Larsen, PhD, William Lee, PhD, William Lindblad, Robert Linn, Adam Lis, PhD, R. Kent Lundergan, Douglas Mackenzie, MD, J Malcom, Bruce W. Martin, Kenneth D. Martin, Neils Martin, PhD, Niels Martin, Frank Martynowkz, Richard R. Mason, PhD, Curtis Matteson, Galen O. May, Mary Mccarthy, MD, Henry McKenney, Harold Mcspaden, MD, Daniel Merfeld, PhD, Paul Louis Merz, PhD, Larry Miller, Minkin, PhD, J Minoff, PhD, Robert H Mitchell, Javid Mohtasham, PhD, Larry W Moore, PhD, Joseph T Morgan, MD, William J Moshofsky, Ruth Naser, Victor Thomas Neal, PhD, David Nelson, PhD, Harold Oatfield, Gerald O'Bannon, PhD, Roger D. Oleeman, PhD, Albert M Pearson, PhD, Wendell Pepperdine, PhD, Heriberto Petschek, Lincoln Phillippi, Casey Jo Price, Wm J Randall, PhD, Bob Raser, Alfred Ratz, PhD, J Arthur Reed, MD, Kenneth R Reed, James Richards, Jerry O Richartz, Arthur B Robinson, PhD, Zachary W Robinson, James Rodine, PhD, Charles R Rohde, PhD, Chris Rouser, James Russell, PhD, Ray Scales, Larry Schecter, PhD, Chester Schink, PhD, Clifford L Schmidt, PhD, Terry Shortridge, MD, Larry D Shuttlesworth, Richard Ernest Siemens, Bruce Siepak, Ronald Smelt, PhD, Deboyd L Smith, C. M. Sorvaag, Richard Speight, Paul E Starkey, DDS, Robert Stones, PhD, Clara A Storvick, PhD, Robert L Straube, PhD, Charles Strohkirch, PhD, Danuta Szalecka, Wojciech Szalecki, PhD, George H. Taylor, Michael Thomas, Joseph W Town, Dah W Tsang, PhD, David Tyson, Jack Vernon, PhD, Philip A. Volker, Philip A. Volker, James Vomocil, PhD, Mike Vossen, Orvin Edson Wagner, PhD, A B Watt, Susan Wechsler, Elwood W Wedman, Richard Whiteley, PhD, Chuck Wiese, Robert S Winniford, PhD, CN Winningstad, James H Wheeler, George Wittkopp, MD, Peter Wolmut, Peter Wyzinski, MD, Peter Wyzinski, MD, Jefrey Yake, Elisabeth Stelle Yearick, PhD, Nicholas J Yonker, Jeffrey Zachman.

Please notice the name "George Taylor" listed above.

When Governor Kulongoski put together his "Climate Change Group" Mr. Taylor didn't make the list. So who did?

Susan Anderson, Director, Portland Office of Sustainable Development; Michael Burnett, Executive director, The Climate Trust; Bob Doppelt, Director, climate Leadership Initiative, University of Oregon; Sarah Severn, Nike, Inc., among others.

And we haven't even yet mentioned the other agencies set up by the Governor to support the narrative thread begun by this media campaign. There's the Renewable Energy Working Group, the Solar Energy Working Group, Small Scale Hydroelectric Working Group, Oregon Wind Working Group, Oregon Geothermal Working Group and the Biomass Coordinating Group.

H.L. Mencken's observation that a university is a place where people run to and fro increasing knowledge is applicable to our Governor's current policy on meeting our state's energy needs. Useless, mindless working groups, running to and fro, increasing...what exactly?

Because that's what Global Warming is all about. Reducing the amount of energy available so that the de-Industrialization of Oregon can occur. Put another way, opponents of Globalization support the Governor because energy use is bad.

Or, again, look at the list of members of the Governor's Global Climate Working Group...

Notice anything missing?

Where's Pacific Power? Where's PGE? Is there a representative of the oil industry? No, but there is Dr. Mel Kohn, State Epidemiologist. I have no idea what his contribution must be. But, there he is.

Tame ponies. The Narrative Thread is "Global Warming, Something Must Be Done!" And the Governor has put together the people needed to support the narrative thread.

But what, if, the narrative thread is a hoax? Where did this threat come from? Follow the money.

Victoria Taft's take here.

Moonbattery here.

Sweetness & Light here.

Ace here.

DaneGerus here.

A Simple Tootsie here.

Protein Wisdom here.

Rodger Schlong here.

Children Demonstrate The Skills Learned From Their Mentors

How could a student at MIT do such a thing? Where did she learn how to behave?

It was, I believe, in 1973 that Oregon State University had it's first "Anti-War" rally. Cow U was blatantly behind the times. President Nixon had already given his "Peace With Honor" speech. The event--or Action, in Lefty-speak--was pretty amusing. It was funny because Lefties finally got to bring Revolution to the Campus, opposing a war on a front the President had announced we were leaving.

It took years for Profs to finally realize their goal. If you ever took a class from Professor Jeanie, you know what I mean. I would expect more than one of you were in the Honors Program at your college. It seemed to me counter-intuitive that an honors program professor would require allegience to a political core of belief rather than the substantive inquiry into those beliefs. You grab your grade and exit. It's all you can do.

My point is, there was and I assume is, a core group of people on every campus who find themselves adhering to political beliefs in order to please their teachers. When you attach labels like "Honors Program" to that set of political beliefs, it's pretty easy to see that a smug sense of entitlement could be engendered. I opted out of the honors program because of its intellectual dishonesty. Those who remained in the program got the special, "Honors" label. Cool beans.

But what happens at an elite school? How could a student decide that bundling oneself up like a suicide bomber was an act of art?

It's what happened to MIT student Star A. Simpson. Elsewhere I commented on the incident. In those comments I copped to stupid. But I begged the reader to see that there were significant differences between my stupid and Ms. Simpson's stupid. Important ones. Like, time and place.

Likewise, as a father, I've been faced with stupid. My sons my not always agree with me. But they have clear understanding of my position, my beliefs and my expectations. I, like every father, know that my sons are not always successful when it comes to meeting either my, or their, expectations. Just as a perfect puppy needs training, so do we.

And in their role as acting as parents in absence, the University has a very strong role to play in the events that have and will follow Ms. Simpson's action. So, I turn to the best indicator of what and how Ms. Simpson's actions will and are being viewed. First, from the President of MIT:

"As reported to us by authorities, Ms. Simpson's actions were reckless and understandably created alarm at the airport." (Page 22, The Tech, pdf).

But how is the University--that is, the people who populate the University, responding?

"Participant Biyeun M. Buczyk ’10, said that MIT was “bending over to media” and “issued a comment that was taken as criticism when [Simpson] really didn’t do anything wrong. … [She] did no wrong in putting on a sweatshirt.”

"I urge you to direct your public relations officials to alter the MIT position and take a strong stance of civility and rationality supporting Star Simpson. I urge you, as a highly respected leader, to support Star Simpson publicly so that you may regain the support of the MIT student body."

"Eventually, rationality must prevail, and I hope the MIT community will be in the forefront of that awakening ­— not fall in line with the childish thinking that views a piece of art as a deadly threat. In fact, I hope more students will wear electronic art in public!"

"MIT — which should be acting to help its student — was curiously quiet, releasing only a statement that “[a]s reported to us by the authorities, Simpson’s actions were reckless and understandably created alarm at the airport.”

So the editorial staff has no supervision. Adult supervision. Someone who says, "Look, she was wrong. Adults don't have to 'support' this type of behaviour. In fact, we have a responsibility to attempt to avoid this type of behaviour."

At Columbia the Iranian appears. Where were the voices that said, "Look, this is wrong. Adults don't have to 'support' this type of behaviour. The Iranian is a thug. In fact, we have a responsibility to avoid this type of behaviour."

But this is the type of behaviour gets when one is indulgent. And, I'm afraid, this indulgence has infiltrated more than our universities. It's in our schools, our legislatures and our labor unions.

And they don't understand when their behaviour offends us. It's not so much what they want. It's their complete disregard for adult choices. So I didn't march against the war in the '60's and '70's. I thought the kind of behaviour one found during these marches was boorish and childish. I don't see that it has matured any since then.

UPDATE: I just went to Rosie's blog. Every now and then I click on PerezHilton to touch base with either my own gehness or the gehness of the Media Capital (LA). Remember, this is an adult woman. Whose opinions matter. I thought I wrote dreck.

Ineffable and Unutterable

Update: Watching Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University. If you didn't watch it, it was a smack down. When a transcript becomes available, I will post it here.

Update: The Iranian. "Gays are microbes that should be killed as germs are killed by injections...we have no gays in Iran." So...killing them is okay.

Update: Here's a link to CU President Lee Bollinger's introduction to the Iranian. I've had some time to digest yesterday's event. That gestation will probably appear in a future post.

Two of my favorite words. I like the softness of ineffable. I like the coarseness of ununtterable. And it described my reaction to the announced lecture at Columbia University of Iranian President Ahmadinejad. Having the advantage of growing up during the Viet Nam War, I've watched people I liked turn into idiots when exposed to the Current Narrative Thread.

Again I thank 10th grade history teacher Jake McGee and college professor William Dale. Coach McGee pointed out that anybody can criticize a system, but before you tear it down, think about what you would replace it with. Professor Dale pointed out the difference between belief and knowledge. Given these mentors, would you be surprised that I found common sense in the writings of Edmund Burke?

So, back to the Iranian's visit to Columbia. If you're a C-SPAN kinda guy you've seen it before. All the horrible fawning over celebrity. The ineffectual outbursts. The mindless pandering. How can children who idolize Sean Penn be entrusted with criticising the Iranian? Where is the necessary critical impulse? And then, the ineffable was uttered.

Not today, not last week. It was 1962 and the writer was the nonpariel William F. Buckley, Jr. (From Danegerus Weblog.)

"We all abuse the instruments of discourse, but we seek, under the massive roccoco superstructure of point and counterpoint, to say things to each other that come truly out of our minds and our hearts, because we feel that in deeply significant ways, we are related by that highly elastic, but not infinitely elastic, bond, that binds us to each other."

...

"Is it not likely that among those of you who applaud there will be those who are in fact applauding their own courage in applauding a real live apologist for human atrocity?" (Click through the links "WFB on Ahmadinejad" to get the full article.)

And that is the point.

This man is so different from us that to view him as "one of us" is defenestration of morality. Thug, kidnapper, zealot, bigot and mass murderer. Given the propinquity of the Iranian, Venezuela's Chavez, and Korea's Kim it is not surprising that those unthinking members of the Left cannot discern this as a moral issue. In fact, given the criminal past of the Iranian it becomes an ethical imperative to deny the Iranian access to the campus of Columbia.

Mr. Buckely's point is valid. For all the stretching and tearing of the fabric of belief there remains a certain concourse. A straining in the opposite that creates concord. The Iranian's presence cannot add to our lives. It can only take away.

Apologeticists for the Iranian exist. That does not make it right.

(WFB article in pdf here.)

I Blew Up

I took the test. Seems I spent too much money. That makes me bad. I guess these people don't know where wealth comes from.

Work.